From Amazon's description of book:Clark, son of historian Sir Kenneth Clark, spent his days just after college as third assistant director (read gofer) on the set of the 1957 British film The Prince and The Showgirl. What made this film unique, and the reason Clark decided to keep a daily journal, was the unlikely pairing of Marilyn Monroe and Sir Lawrence Olivier in the title roles.

Monroe hoped this would give her a more serious image; Olivier hoped to boost his film career. But Monroe was insecure; treated badly by her new husband, Arthur Miller; and often late and on drugs. Olivier, the consummate professional, had no patience.

Here are two video interviews that were done with Colin Firth during tiff 2010 (Toronto Film Festival) for THE KING'S SPEECH, one is 5 1/2 minutes, the other 30 minutes... choose your preference or watch both!

"In Geoffrey Rush's hands Lionel is an outlandish eccentric, a kind of Aussie Henry Higgins who thinks nothing of telling a prince to speak with him on a first-name basis and pay up on lost bets with cold, hard cash (which royals never carry).

"One's a commoner. One's a royal. One man's dad is a brewer. The other guy's father is a king. How could you possibly make that work? But they do. That's clear in the diaries that do exist," he says.

"Lionel's like this wonderful, impassioned conductor," says Hooper. "He reaches in deep with his commoner's hands and pulls out the king that has been hiding underneath all of Albert's fears for years."

In that pursuit Lionel never yields, even when he's faced with protestations from his star pupil and his royal courtiers.

"We all have stuff playing in our heads, stuff that holds us back from who we could become," says Rush.

"This, really, is a story about liberation through friendship," he says. "What a wonderful, powerful force that is."

Q. Why did you think Tom Hooper was the right choice as director?A. I knew from his work on (the PBS series) John Adams that he had a real gift with the camera for making history seem real, which was the most important thing to this intimate story. We didn’t need someone who’d be seduced by all the pomp and pageantry.

Q. Was the fact that your character was an Australian part of the appeal for you?A. Yes, but not just out of any jingoism. What I appreciated was the fact that the script delved into how Australians were — and still are — condescended to by the English. This film may take place in the 1930s, but nearly 50 years later, my Australian wife (Jane Menelaus) was studying in London at the Central School for Speech and Drama. One day, she pronounced the word “nude” as “nood” and her teacher said “It’s ‘nyude,’ you common little colonial.”

"Twenty years earlier," explained Hooper, "being king was still a visual thing. As long as you looked good on a horse or you could wave from a carriage or wave from a balcony and look fine, you could fulfill the ceremonial roles."

"Suddenly (Bertie) was facing being king at a moment when you had to speak publicly on the radio to the 58 countries of the British Empire, which represented one quarter of the world's population," he said.

"So many people looked to the king for a performance that would emotionally connect and on top of that you had the Second World War coming."

On the one hand, people heard Adolf Hitler give "brilliant, fiery, fluent articulate" speeches while the king of England was "struggling to speak at all."

The period was "a fascinating moment when you chart the way mass media has transformed institutions like the monarchy... and the way leadership has to operate."

"You know, if he’d been born just a bit earlier or just a bit later, none of this would have happened to him. A decade before, no one spoke on the radio, and a decade after, they’d learned how to edit and pre-record. But during the crucible of George’s time on the throne, you had to speak live and you had to be persuasive.

“His two greatest political enemies, Hitler and Mussolini, were wonders at using the medium and hypnotizing the masses. It must have been a devastating prospect.”Tom Hoopermentioned how he hoped the royal family would approve of the film: "I would hate the idea that in any sense she was upset with any aspect of the representation. I think to be honest we came to the subject with an open mind and I think both Colin and I rather fell for him. I think you can see that love for the character in the movie."

When it comes to period dramas, it might have been Jane Austen that captured my attention but it has been Elizabeth Gaskell that has captured my heart.

Elizabeth Gaskell was born on September 29, 1810So to mark the 200th anniversary of her birth,how about watching one of the wonderful period dramas based on her novels?

Wives and Daughters was the first Gaskell film adaptation that I saw and I was so drawn in to the story and its characters. Molly Gibson was a true heroine in my eyes. Her sweet nature and her tender relationship with her father was so touching to watch. (Played by Justine Waddell and Bill Paterson)I loved seeing her close friendship with the Hamley family and to see:- gruff Squire Hamley (Sir Michael Gambon) soften when it came to Molly- Mrs. Hamley's (Penelope Wilton) affection for Molly as if she were her own daughter- and the complex relationship with the two brothers Roger and Osborne (Anthony Howell and Tom Hollander)Add to that priceless performances by:- Francesca Annis (as Molly's stepmother) - memorable!- Keeley Hawes (Molly's stepsister) - captivating as always!- Barbara Flynn & Deborah Findlay (loved the Browning sisters!)- Barbara Leigh Hunt and Rosamund Pike (as Lady Cumnor and her daughter Harriet)With such a talented cast, it's no wonder that this is my favourite period drama!

The next Gaskell adaptation that I saw was North & SouthIf you haven't seen this one yet, what are you waiting for?Some people have been put off I think by the grey and sombre landscape depicted in the industrial town of Milton set in the north of England. However, if you let that dissuade you, you'll be missing out on one of the greatest love stories of period drama as evidenced by an Army of fans worldwide! I confess to being one among this band of devoted admirers and created a motivational poster retelling of this "Foolish Passion".wallpaper by dreamvision

On October 3rd, the legendary musical "LES MISÉRABLES" will celebrate its 25th birthday by making theatrical history with an international first - three different productions in London at the same time. The Original Production at the Queen's Theatre, the New 25th Anniversary Production at the Barbican, London and now, stars in their multitudes will gather for a celebratory concert at The O2 on Sunday 3rd October at 7.00pm, when all three productions and many of the shows original cast will come together to celebrate this momentous occasion.

On Sunday October 3rd at 7pm (British Summer Time) the legendary musical “LES MISÉRABLES” will celebrate its 25th birthday with a live broadcast via satellite to cinemas around the world from the star-studded 25th Anniversary Concert at the O2 Arena in London.

The 25th Anniversary concert at The O2 will host a company of over 500 actors and musicians, including Alfie Boe as “Jean Valjean”, Nick Jonas as “Marius”, Norm Lewis as “Javert”, Matt Lucas as “Thénardier”, Lea Salonga as “Fantine”, Jenny Galloway as “Madame Thénardier”, Ramin Karimloo as “Enjolras”, Camilla Kerslake as “Cosette”, Samantha Barks as “Eponine”, the casts of the Original Production at the Queen’s Theatre, the New 25th Anniversary Production at the Barbican, London and members of the Original 1985 London cast.[Sept 29: Camilla Kerslake replaced at Les Mis 02 Arena Concert by Katie Hall]